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Posts Tagged ‘D-Day’

International Conference on WWII

28 Jan

The National World War II Museum announces next International Conference on WWII
Stellar lineup of historians, authors, filmmakers, veterans and more
to explore the war that changed the world

NEW ORLEANS (January 28, 2010) – The National World War II Museum’s first International Conference on World War II in 2006 set the precedent for outstanding scholarship and public history on the most pivotal event of the modern era. The Museum continues this important initiative on March 18-20 in New Orleans as the 2010 International Conference features riveting presentations of the most comprehensive knowledge and perspectives on World War II. Among the compelling speakers are such noted historians and authors as Dr. Donald Miller, Rick Atkinson, Dr. Gerhard Weinberg, Robert Edsel, Alex Kershaw and Sir Max Hastings.

International Conference on WWII
featuring
Rick Atkinson • Carlo D’Este • Robert Edsel • Max Hastings • Walter Isaacson • Donald Miller • Allan Millett • Gerhard Weinberg

covering topics such as
Art & War • D-Day • Women in War • Espionage • War Crimes Trials • The Bombing of Auschwitz

And offering a unique opportunity for our guests: “Meet the Speakers”– an evening of refreshments, book signing and
conversation with some of the best and brightest minds in the field of World War II history.

Click here for Conference Program

Register Online here

or download, print, and mail this form

“We are proud to present our third international conference on World War II,” said Dr. Gordon “Nick” Mueller, President and CEO of The National World War II Museum, “the global conflict that changed America and the world in the middle of the last century. We are excited that these renowned speakers will be with us to illuminate the controversies and debates over battles and pivotal decisions of the war as well as new discoveries on such topics as Art and War, and new insights into the Holocaust.” The Conference will explore why the war was fought, how it was won, and what it means today.

Among the most popular sessions of the conference are sure to be panels of World War II veterans who will share their personal experiences, such as Herman “Dutch” Prager, a Submariner veteran who served on the USS Kingfish.

As a highlight of the 2010 Conference, The National World War II Museum is working with HBO to present an exclusive, behind-the-scenes program on the making of the HBO Miniseries, THE PACIFIC, featuring the creative team involved in this blockbuster premiering nationally on HBO in March.

The “dean” of World War II historians, Dr. Gerhard Weinberg, will present the opening keynote address, “Visions of Victory,” showing how eight war leaders, including Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo, planned to change our future if they had emerged victorious.

Other announced sessions include Carlo D’Este and Mark Stoler on “Churchill and FDR: Allies at War,” Donald Miller on “Terror from the Sky,” Robert Edsel and Rick Atkinson on “Art and War,” and Walter Isaacson on “Einstein and the Bomb.” Additional intriguing topics include “People of Color in a White Man’s Army,” “Should Auschwitz Have Been Bombed?,” “Women in War,” “The Silent Service,” “War Crimes Trials,” and “Aftermath: Occupations, Decolonizations and the Coming of the Cold War.”

Additional noted presenters include Mark Pachter, Dr. Conrad Crane, Dr. Guenter Bischof, Dr. Allan Millett, and Hugh Ambrose. A “Meet the Speakers” reception is planned, including round table chats with speakers, book signings, and a special screening of Beyond All Boundaries, the Museum’s new 4-D, multisensory film at the Solomon Victory Theater.

Conference tickets are now on sale and registration options include hotel and conference packages as well as one day passes to events. To register for the conference or for more information, visit www.ww2conference.com.

The National World War II Museum tells the story of the American Experience in the war that changed the world – why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today. Dedicated in 2000 as The National D-Day Museum and now designated by Congress as America’s National World War II Museum, it celebrates the American Spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and sacrifice of the men and women who fought on the battlefront and the Home Front. For more information, call 877-813-3329 or 504-528-1944 or visit www.nationalww2museum.org.

 

LST-325 Joins Historic List

08 Jul

Indiana Based WW II Ship Joins Historic List
By AP – Tuesday Jul. 07, 2009 – West Kentucky Star

The National Park Service granted the designation to the LST-325, which it says is one of the few surviving American vessels to go ashore on D-Day in 1944. The ship has been permanently moored at Evansville since 2005.

Ship commander Robert Jornlin tells the Evansville Courier & Press that while several American battleships are on the National Register, the LST-325 is unique because it is still a working ship.

The LST-325 will be included in the Military Vehicle Preservation Association’s convention in Evansville next month, after which it will travel to Jeffersonville for an American Legion convention.

You can visit the dedicated webpage for the LST-325 here: http://www.lstmemorial.org/.

The LST-325 was launched on 27 October 1942 and commissioned on 1 February 1943, with Lieutenant Ira Ehrensall the commanding officer. On February 17, during her shakedown cruise, Lt. Ehrensall was transferred to the USS LST-391 and Ensign Clifford E. Mosier replaced him. Mosier would remain the ship’s commanding officer until June 1945.

LST-325
LST-325 – DUCK I Exercise, Slapton Sands, January 1944

On 5 June 1944 LST-325 sailed from Falmouth, England carrying elements of the 5th Special Engineer Brigade. LST-325 was part of Force “B”, the back-up force for the troops going ashore at Omaha Beach on 6 June. On 7 June they anchored off Omaha Beach and unloaded the men and vehicles onto DUKW’s and LCM’s.

 

World War II History for June 6 – D-Day

06 Jun

Today in WWII History

World War II History for June 6 – D-Day

1942 - Japanese forces retreated in the World War II Battle of Midway. The battle had begun on June 4.

1944 - Operation “Overlord” – The D-Day invasion of Europe took place on the beaches of Normandy, France. 400,000 Allied American, British and Canadian troops were involved.

On this day in 1944, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the go-ahead for the largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord, code named D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France.

By daybreak, 18,000 British and American parachutists were already on the ground. At 6:30 a.m., American troops came ashore at Utah and Omaha beaches. At Omaha, the U.S. First Division battled high seas, mist, mines, burning vehicles—and German coastal batteries, including an elite infantry division, which spewed heavy fire. Many wounded Americans ultimately drowned in the high tide. British divisions, which landed at Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, and Canadian troops also met with heavy German fire, but by the end of the day they were able to push inland.

Despite the German resistance, Allied casualties overall were relatively light. The United States and Britain each lost about 1,000 men, and Canada 355. Before the day was over, 155,000 Allied troops would be in Normandy. However, the United States managed to get only half of the 14,000 vehicles and a quarter of the 14,500 tons of supplies they intended on shore.

Three factors were decisive in the success of the Allied invasion. First, German counterattacks were firm but sparse, enabling the Allies to create a broad bridgehead, or advanced position, from which they were able to build up enormous troop strength. Second, Allied air cover, which destroyed bridges over the Seine, forced the Germans to suffer long detours, and naval gunfire proved decisive in protecting the invasion troops. And third, division and confusion within the German ranks as to where the invasion would start and how best to defend their position helped the Allies. (Hitler, convinced another invasion was coming the next day east of the Seine River, refused to allow reserves to be pulled from that area.)

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commander of Britain’s Twenty-first Army Group (but under the overall command of General Eisenhower, for whom Montgomery, and his ego, proved a perennial thorn in the side), often claimed later that the invasion had come off exactly as planned. That was a boast, as evidenced by the failure to take Caen on the first day, as scheduled. While the operation was a decided success, considering the number of troops put ashore and light casualties, improvisation by courageous and quick-witted commanders also played an enormous role.

The D-Day invasion has been the basis for several movies, from The Longest Day (1962), which boasted an all-star cast that included Richard Burton, Sean Connery, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, to Saving Private Ryan (1998), which includes some of the most grippingly realistic war scenes ever filmed, captured in the style of the famous Robert Capa still photos of the actual invasion. [1]

[1] “Allies invade France,” The History Channel website, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=52586 (accessed Jun 6, 2009).

 

World War II History for June 5

05 Jun

Today in WWII History

World War II History for June 5

5 Jun 1940 - During World War II, the Battle of France began when Germany began an offensive in Southern France.

5 Jun 1942 - In France, Pierre Laval congratulated French volunteers that were fighting in the U.S.S.R. with Germans.

5 Jun 1944 - The Allies prepared for the D-Day invasion of German occupied France. One thousand British bombers dropped 5,000 tons of bombs on German batteries placed at the Normandy assault area and 3,000 Allied ships crossed the English Channel.

DDay Soldiers on Ship
Soldiers packed on board ship on the way to Normandy Beaches

Soldiers Taking Mass before DDay
Soldiers taking Mass prior to DDay

5 Jun 1944 - The U.S. B-29 Superfortress made its bombing-run debut. The target was Bangkok.

 

D-Day Audio History – Roosevelt

05 Jun

D-Day Audio History

65 years ago today …

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his Fireside Chat just prior to D-Day 1944-06-05 (14:11m)

Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
 

D-Day Audio History – Eisenhower

05 Jun

D-Day Audio History

65 years ago today …

1944-06-05 Eisenhowers Pre D-Day Announcement to Troops (1:42s)

Eisenhower and Montgomery
General Eisenhower and Field Marshall Montgomery
 

D-Day Audio History – Montogmery

05 Jun

D-Day Audio History

65 years ago today …

Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery’s Address on Eve of D-Day 1944-06-05 (BBC – 0:53s)

Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery
 

World War II History for June 1

01 Jun

Today in WWII History

Audio Clip: Working up to D-Day we bring you a clip from the BBC with Resistance Messages – 05 Jun 1944

World War II History for June 1

1 JUN 1942 - News of death camp killings became public for first time. The report came from the Polish Socialist newspaper known as Liberty Brigade. The paper stated that tens of thousands of Jews had been gassed at the death camp Chelmno.

1 JUN 1943 - During World War II, Germans shot down a civilian flight from Lisbon to London.

On June 1, 1943 actor Leslie Howard, on a BOAC flight from England to Portugal, was killed when Nazi war planes shot his plane out of the sky over the Bay of Biscay killing all aboard. Enlisted by the British government, Howard, who will forever be known as Ashley Wilkes in the movie Gone With the Wind, had been evangelizing the Allied cause to Portuguese and Spanish audiences. Rumors persist that the Germans believed Winston Churchill on board and so attacked the pane. Evidence points to the contrary, and that Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels ordered the attack thinking Howard was a dangerous propagandist and a threat to the German Reich. Read about the monument being erected in Spain. View a clip from Gone with the Wind. [1]

Actor Leslie Howard
Actor Leslie Howard

1 JUN 1944 - The French resistance was warned by a coded message from the British that the D-Day invasion was imminent.

[1] Farewell Ashley, Victory Theater: Hollywood And World War II http://hollywoodatwar.blogspot.com/2009/05/farewell-ashley.html

 

Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 7

10 Sep

World War II History – Audio Feature

Podcast: Columbia News Broadcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 7

Today we bring you the 7th installment of the radio news broadcast after the landings in Normandy on D-Day (44-Jun-06) that went out to the United States.

Here are links to the first set of broadcasts in the series:

Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 1
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 2
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 3
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 4
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 5
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 6

Please remember to subscribe to WWarII.com on iTunes with this link! iTunes Subscribe

 

Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 6

24 Aug

World War II History – Audio Feature

Podcast: Columbia News Broadcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 6

Today we bring you the 6th installment of the radio news broadcast after the landings in Normandy on D-Day (44-Jun-06) that went out to the United States.

Here are links to the first four broadcasts in the series:

Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 1
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 2
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 3
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 4
Podcast – D-Day Broadcast Pt 5

Please remember to subscribe to WWarII.com on iTunes with this link! iTunes Subscribe

 
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